Practice Post- ‘Patriots Day’

As a ex-history major student, historic events, art, and news is something I follow closely. American history can be a painful quilt of a patched together nation, a nation that is supposed to be a diverse group of individuals coming together to progress forward. Personally, me and my generation have seen more large/direct acts of terrorism in my/our first 20 years than previous generations have seen in their lifetime. The terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon is sadly something that my generation is not new to but still morns over. ‘Patriots Day’ was produced to commemorate and document this patch of american history in the best way we as americans know how, through the art of film. This film has been criticized by some american citizens, specifically the people of Boston for not depicting the event with consideration to the Boston community. Making a film on a horrific event like the Boston Marathon Bombing could be controversial because a film maker must be sensitive all involved including the people of Boston, survivors or victims, the Muslim community, police officers and those who serve, etc. When Boston news orginzations got a hold of this film they described this as “a cold, calculated re-enactment bordering on exploitation,” (The Patriots Ledger). Making a film on a event that has traumatized millions, escaladed in acts of racism, and made a nation like America have difficult time recovering some may see these films as exploding a communities trauma. On the other hand, one of our generations main form of documenting historical events is through film.